This application claims benefit of Japanese Application Nos. 2000-108385 filed in Japan on Apr. 10, 2000 and 2001-38793 filed in Japan on Feb. 15, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated by this reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus for displaying an endoscope image on a monitor on a receiver side by wireless.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an endoscope apparatus has been widely used in a medical field as well as in an industrial field. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho 60-48011 discloses an endoscope apparatus which can display an image of an endoscope on a monitor located at a distant position by transmitting the image by wireless.
However, since frequencies used in wireless transmission cannot be switched in the prior art, it is inconvenient in the prior art to selectively use a plurality of endoscopes.
In addition, it is impossible in the prior art to cope with a case in which a plurality of endoscopes are simultaneously used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus which selectively uses a plurality of endoscopes and can transmit an image such that radio waves do not interfer with each other when the endoscopes are simultaneously used.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a convenient endoscope apparatus which can easily perform endoscope inspection.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a convenient medical system which can easily perform medical inspection.
An endoscope apparatus comprises:
first and second endoscopes having insertion units inserted into a body cavity and image pickup devices for picking up images of an observation portion;
first and second wireless transmitters which are arranged in the first and second endoscopes respectively to transmit pieces of image information picked by the first and second endoscopes respectively and which transmit image information signals corresponding to the pieces of image information at different transmission frequencies respectively;
first and second information display portions which are arranged in the first and second endoscopes respectively and which display pieces of frequency information of the transmission frequencies of the first and second wireless transmitters;
an information reading device which can read the pieces of frequency information of the first and second display portions;
a wireless receiver which can receive the image information signals respectively transmitted from the first and second wireless transmitters;
a reception frequency setting unit for tuning a reception frequency of the wireless receiver to the transmission frequencies of respective image information signals transmitted from the first and second wireless transmitters by the pieces of frequency information read by the information reading device; and
an image display device for processing the first or second image information signal received by the wireless receiver to display an image. In accordance with the endoscope apparatus, an information display portion of an endoscope used in endoscope inspection is read by the information reading device, thereby making it possible that the reception frequency of the wireless receiver is set so that the transmission frequency of the endoscope may be received, and the endoscope apparatus can easily cope with even a case in which a plurality of endoscopes are selectively used.